Summary of Case: A Green Bay diocesan priest, Feeney has been accused of sexually abusing many children, male and female, throughout his career. At least 12 have come forward. He was moved among 18 parishes in the diocese within 30 years. In 1978 the parents of two young teenage brothers reported to diocesan officials and police that Feeney had molested their boys. The parents dropped the charges when the diocese told them the problem would be taken care of. In 1979 two mothers went to law enforcement officials with complaints about Feeney, but were persuaded by a prosecutor not to press charges. In 1983 Green Bay bishop Wycislo told Feeney that unless he found a job in another diocese he would face going to treatment, or prosecution. Feeney found work as a priest in San Diego, CA and Las Vegas, NV parishes, and in Nevada prisons. He was removed from ministry in 1986 after being accused of smuggling drug paraphernalia and women's underwear into a Nevada prison in exchange for sex with prisoners. Feeney was arrested in 2002 for the 1978 sexual assaults of the two young brothers in Wisconsin. He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Feeney was defrocked by the Vatican in 2005. He was released from prison to a Wisconsin halfway house in November 2011, and is a registered sex offender.
Ordained: 1952

• A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc."

WI

2/3

St. Theresa's had a school with 575-588 boys and 558-575 girls.

Sept. 1963

1965

Immaculate Conception (St. Mary's)

Chilton

• A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc."

WI

3/3

Immaculate Conception had a school with 255-241 boys and 252-262 girls.

• A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc."

St. Francis Xavier's had a school with 221-370 boys and 226-374 girls. It was combined with St. Mary's in 1971.

June 1973

1976

St. Benedict's

Suamico

• A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc."

• Feeney was accused in 1978 of inappropriate behavior with two brothers, ages 12 and 14. Their parents filed a complaint with the diocese and with the police in July of that year, saying Feeney "snapped" the boys' pajama bottoms and asked them questions about their penises. The parents dropped the charges when they were told by the diocese the problem would be taken care of. The boys testified at trial in 2004. The older brother said Feeney, who was visiting the family in their home, came to his bedroom, put his hand on the boy's crotch, asked if the boy knew what the priest was touching, and told him to spell "penis". Feeney is said to have also asked the boy if he had girlfriends. He then put his put his hand underneath the boy's pajama top, proceeded to rub and work his way down to the boy's pajama pants. The boy shook him off and rolled away. The priest left the room, then returned and pinched the boy's butt. In addition to similar behavior toward the younger, 12 year-old, boy in his bedroom that night, the younger brother reported that Feeney had sexually assaulted him during confesson. Feeney is said to have asked the boy if he had girlfriends, then grabbed the boy's crotch and penis.

WI

1/1

St. Nicholas' had a school with 374-282 students.

Bishop Wycislo told Feeney in a letter that diocesan officials decided after an investigation that Feeney could stay in Freedom if he underwent counseling. Wycislo told Feeney to "stay away from young people".

Wycislo transferred Feeney to this parish, warning "if there is any repetition of past problems" and "in the event a trial were to eventuate because of recent allegations against you, you will immediately be suspended and deprived of the faculties of this diocese."

Two mothers from St. Nicholas' in Freedom went to law enforcement officials in 1979 when they learned that Feeney was transferred to St. Mary's rather than being removed from ministry, as church officials had promised. A 2002 complaint stated that the prosecutor at the time persuaded them not to press charges, telling them it would be too traumatizing for the boys.

In Oct. 1983 Wycislo told Feeney he could no longer work in the Green Bay diocese, and that he had three months to find a job in another diocese. Wycislo said he would write a letter of support. The bishop wrote further that If Feeney didn't find a job in three months, he would have to go to treatment or face prosecution.

Late 1983

San Diego bishop was Leo Thomas Maher (1969-1990)

San Diego

CA

This assignment is per news reports.

Feeney served for a short time at an unspecified San Diego parish.

1984

Reno bishop was Norman Francis McFarland (1976-1986)

1986?

On Duty Outside the Diocese/St. Francis de Sales

Las Vegas

• Feeney is alleged in a January 2008 lawsuit to have molested a 13 year-old boy, who was a St. Francis de Sales school student, in 1984 and 1985. His accuser said Feeney would take him and his friends to football games and that after a game, at the boy's home, Feeney sat next to the boy on a couch, put his arm around the boy, and asked if their t.v. had the Playboy channel. Feeney is said to have then put one hand under the boy's shirt, and the other on the boy's genitals under his pants.

NV

pastor

St. Francis de Sales had a school with 263 students.

In the 1986 Directory Feeney is indexed but is not listed at St. Francis de Sales in the Reno diocesan pages.

St. Francis' school principal, Msgr. LaVoy, heard that the boy who said Feeney molested him at home in front of the t.v. told his friends Feeney was gay. LaVoy is said to have called the boy into his office, where the boy told LaVoy what Feeney had done to him. LaVoy's response is said to have been that the boy should be "ashamed of himself". He met with the boy's father to determine if the boy- who LaVoy said caused trouble- would be allowed to stay at St. Francis. The boy was allowed to stay.

1984

1986

Christ of the Desert

Amargosa Valley

NV

This was a mission of St. Francis de Sales in Las Vegas.

1984

1986

Juvenile Detention Centers

NV

1984

1986

Prison

Indian Springs

NV

chaplain

Feeney was accused in 1986 of smuggling drug paraphernalia and women's underwear into the prison in exchange for sexual favors from prisoners. Feeney claimed he was set up.

Feeney was arrested in Sept. 2002 at his L.A. home and charged with sexually assaulting a 12 year-old boy during confession in the 1970s in Wisconsin, as well as the attempted sexual assaults of the same boy and his 14 year-old brother.

2002

David Allen Zubik replaced Banks (2003-2007)

2004

Retired

Green Bay

WI

Address given is a Green Bay P.O. Box.

Feeney was found guilty in Feb. 2004 of sexually assaulting the two brothers in 1978.

There were at least 10 other Feeney accusers which the trial's prosecutor stated may be just a fraction of Feeney victims. They were unable to pursue prosecution due to the statute of limitations. The brothers were able to press charges because of a loophole in the statute.

The brothers whose case resulted in Feeney's conviction filed a civil lawsuit in 2008 against the Green Bay diocese, alleging the diocese covered up years of abuse by Feeney and lied to parishioners about what they knew about Feeney's history of sexually abusing children. The suit contended that the diocese knew about Feeney's abusive behavior in the early 1960s.

Nov. 2011

Halfway House

Appleton

WI

Feeney was released from prison in Nov. 2011 to an Appleton, Wisconsin halfway house. He was to be on parole for the remainder of his sentence, and is a registered sex offender.

Another civil case to went to trial in Oct. 2012 in Las Vegas. The plaintiff, who accused Feeney of molesting him in 1984 when he was a 13 year-old St. Francis De Sales student in Las Vegas,was awarded $500,000. The Las Vegas archdiocese appealed the ruling; hearing Jan. 2015.

Priests
in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's
place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest
listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor)
and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4
means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample
page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic
priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication
year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year
as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into
the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to
correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading
or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the
source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in
progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email
us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Feeney's career history as it is represented
in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in
the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation
we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes
that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven
guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are
presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise.
Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private
settlements. For more information, see our posting
policy.